Set Numbering Value not working in document using Word App, but appears correctly online and in the Styles toolbar

Question

If I open my document in Word Online via OneDrive, the numbering is correct (I had changed it to start at 3 rather than 1). However, when I open it in the app, the chapter number is 1. What is odd though is that the numbering shown in the Styles toolbar as examples all have the correct numbering. If I right-click on the offending heading and try to change the number value via Set Numbering Value, this doesn't change anything. It obviously doesn't make an actual change to the document, as if I save it and re-open online, it still says 3.

How can I fix this issue?

Answer 1

You have run into two limitations in Word.

The first limitation is that the online version isn't very stable when it comes to numbering. It will be safer to edit documents with numbering in the full, locally installed version of Word on a PC or Mac computer.

The second limitation is with numbering itself. The safest way to restart numbering in Word is to set up a multilevel list so that higher levels can restart lower ones. Also, numbering levels should be associated with paragraph styles. The general principles are discussed in the article at https://shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/numbering20072010.html.

Answer 2

Hi,

Regarding your description, the chapter number shows incorrectly in Word app. However, they are correct because the number shows correctly in the Styles toolbar and Word Online.

Given this situation, I suggest you check if the same issue happens to the newly created document. If not, you can try to re-insert the numbers and check if it will fix this issue.

If the issue persists after trying these steps, you can save the sample file to the cloud drive and share the link with us. We will test it at our end in the meantime. Moreover, please provide the screenshot of the Word-> File->Product Information page.

Appreciate your understanding.

Best Regards,

Ivy

Answer 3

Hi,

If I click the numbering icon once to remove it and then again to re-add it, the problem is resolved. However if I open it once more from my OneDrive, the problem resumes.

This is my product information page:

Thanks

Answer 4

I am using Microsoft 365 for enterprise on my desktop so do you mean online as in this version or the web version?

Clicking the numbering icon to remove it and then re-clicking fixes the issue, but if I close and re-open the file the problem resumes. It is using a multi-level list with the paragraph styles as the different levels. I am using a template but this problem has never happened when I have used it before, so I really don't know why it is happening recently.

Answer 5

You mentioned "Word Online" in your very first post in this thread, and that is why I commented on that particular version (that is, the web version). In my experience, numbering is often incorrectly displayed in the web-based version of Word and trying to fix it in that version won't work (because limited tools are available for editing numbering).

On the other hand, if you are saying that you store documents in OneDrive but you edit them in the full version of Word, numbering should work properly.

I would still advise against using manual restarts, though. Always apply numbering by applying numbered paragraph styles, linked together by a multilevel list, set up so that higher levels restart lower ones (see https://shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/numbering20072010.html).